New UK Film Tax Relief announced
Enhancements to the UK Film Tax Relief were announced by UK Government’s Chancellor of the Exchequer in today’s Autumn Statement. These new measures in the Autumn Statement strengthen support for the UK film industry and will bring benefits to UK film in general and include:
- making relief available at 25% on the first £20 million of qualifying production expenditure and 20% thereafter, for small and large budget films, subject to state aid clearance. This will make the Film Tax Relief easier to use and more attractive, as well as eradicate the ‘cliff edge’ between the 20% and 25% schemes;
- reducing the minimum UK expenditure requirement from 25% to 10% to encourage further investment in the UK, benefitting visual effects and the wider industry, supporting UK independent production and encouraging minority co-productions where the UK spend is less than 25%;
- changes to the cultural test – which will be expanded to allow for European as well as British Culture, in line with other creative content tax reliefs. The test will become a 35 point test with a pass mark of 18, and will include an increase in the points available for principal photography/special effects/visual effects and English language.
£5 million investment for the National Film and Television School, to expand and upgrade its Digital Village facility into a world-class training centre to provide a sustainable supply of UK talent for the creative industries was also announced.
The tax changes will be introduced from April 2014, subject to state aid approval, and legislated at Finance Bill 2014. This good news for the British film industry follows the successful launch earlier this year of Tax Reliefs for high-end television and animation.
Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of the British Film Commission and Film London, said, “The UK is home to world-class filmmaking talent and expertise, which help drive the industry forward, as demonstrated recently by the UK-produced and critically-acclaimed Gravity. However, in order to continue to attract business to the UK in a fiercely competitive global marketplace, our industry must be underpinned by effective fiscal incentives. The tax relief was a game changer when introduced in 2007 and today’s announcement ensures we can continue to grow our industry, boosting the UK economy and creating British jobs; it will also encourage the production of more culturally British projects.”
BFI CEO, Amanda Nevill also commented, saying, “Having just come back from China, which is one of the most exciting new markets for film in the world, it’s fantastic that the Chancellor is doing so much to ensure UK film is positioned in the strongest possible way.”
